What do you carry your fire kit in?

I'm working on my kit for trekking. My time period is 1800-1815 when David Thompson discovered and travelled through the Howse Pass. My current stomping ground. What would have been reasonably PC? would it have been just some type of leather pouch, or heavy canvas? Not waterproof for sure but an oiled pouch in a haversack might be? Thoughts?

A little deerskin pouch.

Omahkapi'si said:

A little deerskin pouch.

Click to expand...

I have some nice elk and moose hide already and was thinking that might be the ticket.

Since he would have been outfitted by Hudson's Bay or Northwest Company, I don't remember who, research what they were offering as Trade Goods for that purpose. Probably some type of metal container carried in a leather pouch. He probably carried more than one.

My tinder box is in a small leather pouch with a button flap, and that rides in my rifle bag

LD

Metal containers were available at the time, but leather would have been more common.

I used to be heavily into bushcraft before switching over to the historical stuff. Right now I'm using a tinder pouch I made several years ago. It contains some fatwood, tinder fungus, a flint striker and a good size piece of flint. Should I decide to go modern I add a fire lens, Ferro rod, and a mag block fire starter. I don't know how historic this pouch is but I'm pretty sure this design was being used in Mayan times. I'm making a new pouch for my 18/19 century kit but couldn't find it in the shop to take pics. The pictured tinder pouch is made from old Italian goat skin garment leather. It is thin but very durable.

A Ted Cash (RIP) German silver box.

An old Altoids tin, (the kind made before the word Altoids was stamped & raised) fire blued. The hinges are probably not correct. I guess that box should be replaced, even though the size is ideal.

Fatboyz said:

I'm working on my kit for trekking. My time period is 1800-1815 when David Thompson discovered and travelled through the Howse Pass. My current stomping ground. What would have been reasonably PC? would it have been just some type of leather pouch, or heavy canvas? Not waterproof for sure but an oiled pouch in a haversack might be? Thoughts?

Click to expand...

I keep mine in a round tin box. It's a lot like the round tin containers that expensive pipe tobacco would come in. Got it from Townsends.us back when they were James Townsend & Son. They were available in a number of sizes back then. Looks like they only have the 4" size now. The first one I got was 3½" in diameter and my striker wouldn't fit in it. So I ordered a 4" one and that has my fire kit in it. I take it everywhere with me

I then used the 3½" one to make charcloth and to hold some tinder, in this case some linen tow. If I don't have that I'll put a length of sisal or jute rope in there. To make charcloth, I just had to drill a hole in the center of it and then use a metal screw or wood screw that would fit and seal that hole. Then just cut put some 100% cotton cloth cut into squares inside that; remove the screw; and put it in the fire (or over a burner). Leave it on the coals or in the flame until it stops smoking (can be awhile). Then put the screw back in it to seal it up. After that it will take hours to cool off, but if you open it too soon, the contents will burst into flame. So don't be in a hurry when you're making char cloth and don't open it until you can hold it in your bare hands. If not familiar with char cloth, it is great stuff it will capture a spark and hold an ember long enough for you to move it to some tinder and blow it into a flame. You can also light a pipe with just that ember.

The 2½" one I use to hold some meds. Always included in that besides my prescriptions is some ibuprofen because at the end of the day these old bones (and knees) usually need it. I just fold them in some art paper (like newspaper without any print on it) and put it in the tin.

Here's a couple of shot of them both open and closed going from the smallest to largest. Tin containers like this were very common. Tinsmiths were kept pretty busy. Tin was used just about everywhere during the 18th and 19th centuries.

I have two kits I keep handy.
One a copper tinder box and one an HBC tobacco tin with fire glass in the lid.
That’s late cr 1840 and an HBC thing, probably not carried by Americans.
I also have a fire glass on a wood hinged box
There is an old shooting bag in the museum if the fur trade that has a steel and an awl on the strap.
Leather of some sort would have been a handy bag. But God knows how many bags were made of cloth
I have one kit in kidskin and one kit in a canvas slit bag

tenngun said:

I have two kits I keep handy.
One a copper tinder box and one an HBC tobacco tin with fire glass in the lid.
That’s late cr 1840 and an HBC thing, probably not carried by Americans.
I also have a fire glass on a wood hinged box
There is an old shooting bag in the museum if the fur trade that has a steel and an awl on the strap.
Leather of some sort would have been a handy bag. But God knows how many bags were made of cloth
I have one kit in kidskin and one kit in a canvas slit bag

Click to expand...

Wooden hinged box with fire lens would be cool. Did you make that one?

Hermit Tim said:

Wooden hinged box with fire lens would be cool. Did you make that one?

Click to expand...

No got it from crazy crow

Cruzatte said:

An old Altoids tin, (the kind made before the word Altoids was stamped & raised) fire blued. The hinges are probably not correct. I guess that box should be replaced, even though the size is ideal.

Click to expand...

If you liked the old Altoids box (I use for my patch lube) order some mints from Amazon (might be Amazon Fresh). It's the same box as the Altoids was before they started embossing Altoids into the lid.

Hermit Tim said:

Wooden hinged box with fire lens would be cool. Did you make that one?

Click to expand...

Sorry lied, it’s a brass holder
Oldtimers got me

Not to take this topic on a tangent but maybe add to it, but would something like a belt pouch be an appropriate carrier for a fire starting kit? You'd always have it on you whether or not your shooting bag was on you.

Antelope Pete said:

Not to take this topic on a tangent but maybe add to it, but would something like a belt pouch be an appropriate carrier for a fire starting kit? You'd always have it on you whether or not your shooting bag was on you.

Click to expand...

Hmmm
We have belt bags that have survived from the past. But in paintings cartoons and descriptions of clothing extra bags don’t seem real practical to the old timers.
Cr 1750 coats and waist coats came with big pockets. They decreased in size as time went by.
I suspect many stuffed their pockets full of stuff
Rifleman shirts and just plain over shirts and smocks were seen belted and we hear of things stuffed in a shirt, the space is correctly called the sinus of the shirt.
Men in the wild kept gun and bag close. Miller shows men relaxing with rifle and bag in hand reach.
Even when coats and waistcoats got short there were breast pockets and tail coats had a pocket in the upper part of the tail.
I’ve got too many belt bags, but I THINK they are more popular today then ever in the past

I have one made from a horn, to short for powder so I made it for my fire kit.

Twisted_1in66 said:

If you liked the old Altoids box (I use for my patch lube) order some mints from Amazon (might be Amazon Fresh). It's the same box as the Altoids was before they started embossing Altoids into the lid.

Click to expand...

Right size, right shape, still has the modern hinges on it, so it seems. That's the detail I'd have changed if I could work my will.